Heroic Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms heroic American [hi-roh-ik] / hɪˈroʊ ɪk /

    adjective

    1. Also heroical of, relating to, or characteristic of a hero or heroine.

      Synonyms: courageous, brave, gallant, valorous, valiant, dauntless Antonyms: cowardly

    2. suitable to the character of a hero in size or concept; daring; noble.

      a heroic ambition.

      Synonyms: courageous, brave, gallant, valorous, valiant, dauntless Antonyms: cowardly

    3. having or displaying the character or attributes of a hero; extraordinarily bold, altruistic, determined, etc..

      a heroic explorer.

    4. having or involving recourse to boldness, daring, or extreme measures.

      Heroic measures were taken to save his life.

    5. dealing with or describing the deeds, attributes, etc., of heroes, as in literature.

    6. of, relating to, or characteristic of the heroes of antiquity.

      heroic mythology.

    7. used in heroic poetry.

      Synonyms: epic

    8. resembling heroic poetry in language or style; grandiloquent.

    9. (of style or language) lofty; extravagant; grand.

    10. larger than life-size.

      a statue of heroic proportions.

    noun

    1. Usually heroics heroic verse.

    2. heroics,

      1. flamboyant or extravagant language, sentiment, or behavior, intended to seem heroic.

      2. heroic action or behavior.

    heroic British / hɪˈrəʊɪk /

    adjective

    1. of, like, or befitting a hero

    2. courageous but desperate

    3. relating to or treating of heroes and their deeds

    4. of, relating to, or resembling the heroes of classical mythology

    5. (of language, manner, etc) extravagant

    6. prosody of, relating to, or resembling heroic verse

    7. (of the arts, esp sculpture) larger than life-size; smaller than colossal

    8. RC Church

      1. held to such a degree as to enable a person to perform virtuous actions with exceptional promptness, ease and pleasure, and with self-abnegation and self-control

        heroic virtue

      2. performed or undergone by such a person

        the heroic witness of martyrdom

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    Other Word Forms

    • heroically adverb
    • heroicalness noun
    • heroicity noun
    • heroicness noun
    • nonheroic adjective
    • nonheroical adjective
    • nonheroically adverb
    • nonheroicalness noun
    • nonheroicness noun
    • pseudoheroic adjective
    • pseudoheroical adjective
    • pseudoheroically adverb
    • quasi-heroic adjective
    • quasi-heroically adverb
    • superheroic adjective
    • superheroically adverb
    • unheroic adjective
    • unheroical adjective
    • unheroically adverb
    • unheroicalness noun
    • unheroicness noun

    Etymology

    Origin of heroic

    First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin hērōicus, from Greek hērōïkós “of, pertaining to a hero”; hero + -ic; compare late Middle English heroical, heroicus

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    The film inspires while it challenges: What were any of us doing at that age that was comparably heroic or meaningful?

    From Los Angeles Times

    No is a whole sentence, and a heroic one at that.

    From Salon

    Head's heroics came on the back of a blistering spell from marauding pace pair Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc after lunch that sparked a stunning England collapse.

    From Barron's

    He insisted that he was an independent artist, proving the point by providing decadent, images for an edition of Thomas Malory’s paean to heroic chivalry, “Le Morte d’Arthur.”

    From The Wall Street Journal

    Daley participated in a years-long game as an adult, and it shows in the cavalier jokes, the rowdy physical humor and bouts of heroic incompetence.

    From Salon

    Related Words

    • bold
    • courageous
    • daring
    • epic
    • fearless
    • gallant
    • grand
    • gutsy
    • noble
    • valiant

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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